Congestion Notification Method, Related Device, and System

ABSTRACT

A congestion notification method, a related device, and a system, where the method includes receiving, by a network side device, a congestion status of a target network area sent by a radio access network (RAN) congestion awareness function (RCAF) entity, where the target network area is a network area involved in an application service provided by a target application server; and sending, by the network side device, the congestion status of the target network area to the target application server. Hence, an application server may able to learn in time when congestion occurs, and adjust, according to the congestion situation, a related service in an area corresponding to the congestion situation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/590,728, filed on May 9, 2017, which is a continuation ofInternational Patent Application No. PCT/CN2014/090750, filed on Nov.10, 2014. The afore-mentioned patent applications are herebyincorporated by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field ofcommunications technologies, and in particular, to a congestionnotification method, a related device, and a system.

BACKGROUND

When a network in an area is congested, a service provided by anapplication server for user equipment (UE) in the area is affected. Forexample, a service transmission delay increases, service bearerestablishment fails, and a transmission rate is limited. Because theapplication server cannot perceive a congestion status, the applicationserver continues performing downlink data transmission, which causes awaste of a network resource and may lead to a failure to properly usesome important services due to a poor network condition.

SUMMARY

To resolve the foregoing problem, embodiments of the present disclosureprovide a congestion notification method, a related device, and a systemsuch that an application server can learn in time a case in whichcongestion occurs. Therefore, the application server may adjust,according to the congestion situation, a related service in an areacorresponding to the congestion situation.

According to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosureprovides a congestion notification method, where the method includesreceiving, by a network side device, a congestion status of a targetnetwork area and that is sent by a radio access network (RAN) congestionawareness function (RCAF) entity, where the target network area is anetwork area involved in an application service provided by a targetapplication server, and sending, by the network side device, thecongestion status of the target network area to the target applicationserver.

With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementationmanner, before receiving, by a network side device, a congestion statusof a target network area from an RCAF entity, the method furtherincludes receiving, by the network side device, a first congestion queryrequest from the target application server, where the first congestionquery request includes information about a target area, and the firstcongestion query request requests to acquire a congestion status of thetarget area, determining, by the network side device according to theinformation about the target area, an identifier of the target networkarea and related to the target area, and sending, by the network sidedevice, a second congestion query request to the RCAF entity, where thesecond congestion query request includes the identifier of the targetnetwork area, and the second congestion query request requests toacquire the congestion status of the target network area.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the firstaspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the first aspect,the information about the target area is information about a targetgeographic area, where the information about the target geographic areais information about an area not divided by an operator and that cannotbe identified by the network side device.

With reference to the second possible implementation manner of the firstaspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the first aspect,determining, by the network side device according to the informationabout the target area, an identifier of the target network area andrelated to the target area includes determining, by the network sidedevice according to a mapping relationship between the information aboutthe target geographic area and the identifier of the target networkarea, the identifier of the target network area corresponding to theinformation about the target geographic area.

With reference to the second possible implementation manner of the firstaspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect,determining, by the network side device according to the informationabout the target area, an identifier of the target network area relatedto the target area includes sending, by the network side device, theinformation about the target geographic area to an interworking function(IWF) entity, and receiving, by the network side device, the identifierof the target network area from the IWF entity.

With reference to any possible implementation manner of the firstpossible implementation manner of the first aspect to the fourthpossible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a fifth possibleimplementation manner of the first aspect, the first congestion queryrequest further includes service content description information of atarget application, and the method further includes determining, by thenetwork side device according to the service content descriptioninformation of the target application, a congestion status of anapplication in the target network area and that matches the targetapplication, and sending, to the target application server, thecongestion status of the application in the target network area and thatmatches the target application.

With reference to the fifth possible implementation manner of the firstaspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the first aspect,the service content description information of the target application isan identifier of the target application, or an identifier of a groupcorresponding to the target application.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the foregoing possibleimplementation manners of the first aspect, in a seventh possibleimplementation manner of the first aspect, the network side device is aservice capability exposure function (SCEF) entity, or the network sidedevice is a policy and charging rules function (PCRF) entity.

According to a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosureprovides a congestion notification method, where the method includessending, by an application server, a congestion query request to anetwork side device, where the congestion query request includesinformation about a target area, and the congestion query requestrequests to acquire a congestion status of the target area, receiving,by the application server, a congestion status of a target network areaand related to the target area from the network side device, andadjusting, by the application server, a running status of an applicationaccording to the congestion status of the target network area.

With reference to the second aspect, in a first possible implementationmanner of the second aspect, the information about the target area is anidentifier of the target network area, or the information about thetarget area is information about a target geographic area, where theinformation about the target geographic area is information about anarea not divided by an operator and that cannot be identified by thenetwork side device.

With reference to the second aspect or the first possible implementationmanner of the second aspect, in a second possible implementation mannerof the second aspect, the congestion query request further includesservice content description information of a target application, and themethod further includes receiving, by the application server, acongestion status of an application in the target network area and thatmatches the target application, where the congestion status is sent bythe network side device.

With reference to the second possible implementation manner of thesecond aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the secondaspect, the service content description information of the targetapplication is an identifier of the target application, or an identifierof a group corresponding to the target application.

According to a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosureprovides a congestion notification method, where the method includesacquiring, by an RCAF entity, an identifier of a target network area,where the target network area is a network area involved in anapplication service provided by a target application server, acquiring,by the RCAF entity, a congestion status of the target network area, andsending, by the RCAF entity, the congestion status of the target networkarea to a network side device.

With reference to the third aspect, in a first possible implementationmanner of the third aspect, acquiring, by the RCAF entity, the targetnetwork area includes receiving, by the RCAF entity, a congestion queryrequest from the network side device, where the congestion query requestincludes the identifier of the target network area, and the congestionquery request requests to acquire the congestion status of the targetnetwork area.

With reference to the third aspect, in a second possible implementationmanner of the third aspect, acquiring, by the RCAF unit, the targetnetwork area includes determining, by the RCAF unit, the identifier ofthe target network area from a subscription list, where the subscriptionlist includes information about a network area and that can provide acongestion status.

According to a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosureprovides a congestion notification method, where the method includesreceiving, by an IWF entity, information about a target geographic areafrom a network side device, where the information about the targetgeographic area is information about an area not divided by an operatorand that cannot be identified by the network side device, determining,by the IWF entity according to a mapping relationship between anidentifier of a target network area and the information about the targetgeographic area, the identifier of the target network area and thatcorresponds to the information about the target geographic area, andsending, by the IWF entity, the identifier of the target network area tothe network side device.

According to a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosureprovides a network side device, where the network side device includes areceiving unit configured to receive a congestion status of a targetnetwork area from an RCAF entity, where the target network area is anetwork area involved in an application service provided by a targetapplication server, and a sending unit configured to send the congestionstatus of the target network area to the target application server.

With reference to the fifth aspect, in a first possible implementationmanner of the fifth aspect, the receiving unit is further configured toreceive a first congestion query request from the target applicationserver, where the first congestion query request includes informationabout a target area, and the first congestion query request requests toacquire a congestion status of the target area, and the network sidedevice further includes a determining unit, where the determining unitis configured to determine, according to the information about thetarget area, an identifier of the target network area and related to thetarget area, and the sending unit is further configured to send a secondcongestion query request to the RCAF entity, where the second congestionquery request includes the identifier of the target network area, andthe second congestion query request requests to acquire the congestionstatus of the target network area.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the fifthaspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect,the information about the target area is information about a targetgeographic area, where the information about the target geographic areais information about an area not divided by an operator and that cannotbe identified by the network side device.

With reference to the second possible implementation manner of the fifthaspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect,the determining unit is further configured to determine, according to amapping relationship between the information about the target geographicarea and the identifier of the target network area, the identifier ofthe target network area and that corresponds to the information aboutthe target geographic area.

With reference to the second possible implementation manner of the fifthaspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect,the determining unit is further configured to send the information aboutthe target geographic area to an IWF entity using the sending unit, andthe determining unit is further configured to determine that theidentifier of the target network area is received by the receiving unitfrom the IWF entity.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the fifthaspect to the fourth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect,in a fifth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the firstcongestion query request further includes service content descriptioninformation of a target application. The determining unit is furtherconfigured to determine, according to the service content descriptioninformation of the target application, a congestion status of anapplication in the target network area and that matches the targetapplication, and the sending unit is further configured to send, to thetarget application server, the congestion status of the application inthe target network area and that matches the target application.

With reference to the fifth possible implementation manner of the fifthaspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect,the service content description information of the target application isan identifier of the target application, or an identifier of a groupcorresponding to the target application.

With reference to the fifth aspect or any one of the foregoing possibleimplementation manners of the fifth aspect, in a seventh possibleimplementation manner of the fifth aspect, the network side device is anSCEF entity, or the network side device is a PCRF entity.

According to a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosureprovides an application server, where the application server includes asending unit configured to send a congestion query request to a networkside device, where the congestion query request includes informationabout a target area, and the congestion query request requests toacquire a congestion status of the target area, a receiving unitconfigured to receive a congestion status of a target network area andrelated to the target area from the network side device, and adetermining unit configured to adjust a running status of an applicationaccording to the congestion status of the target network area.

With reference to the sixth aspect, in a first possible implementationmanner of the sixth aspect, the information about the target area is anidentifier of the target network area, or the information about thetarget area is information about a target geographic area, where theinformation about the target geographic area is information about anarea not divided by an operator and that cannot be identified by thenetwork side device.

With reference to the sixth aspect or the first possible implementationmanner of the sixth aspect, in a second possible implementation mannerof the sixth aspect, the congestion query request further includesservice content description information of a target application, and thereceiving unit is further configured to receive a congestion status ofan application in the target network area and that matches the targetapplication, where the congestion status is sent by the network sidedevice.

With reference to the second possible implementation manner of the sixthaspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect,the service content description information of the target application isan identifier of the target application, or an identifier of a groupcorresponding to the target application.

According to a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosureprovides an RCAF entity, where the RCAF entity includes an acquiringunit configured to acquire an identifier of a target network area, wherethe target network area is a network area involved in an applicationservice provided by a target application server, where the acquiringunit is further configured to acquire a congestion status of the targetnetwork area, and a sending unit configured to send the congestionstatus of the target network area to a network side device.

With reference to the seventh aspect, in a first possible implementationmanner of the seventh aspect, the acquiring unit is further configuredto receive a congestion query request from the network side device,where the congestion query request includes the identifier of the targetnetwork area, and the congestion query request requests to acquire thecongestion status of the target network area.

With reference to the seventh aspect, in a second possibleimplementation manner of the seventh aspect, the acquiring unit isfurther configured to determine the identifier of the target networkarea from a subscription list, where the subscription list includesinformation about a network area and that can provide a congestionstatus.

According to an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosureprovides an IWF entity, where the IWF entity includes a receiving unitconfigured to receive information about a target geographic area from anetwork side device, where the information about the target geographicarea is information about an area not divided by an operator and thatcannot be identified by the network side device, a determining unitconfigured to determine, according to a mapping relationship between anidentifier of a target network area and the information about the targetgeographic area, the identifier of the target network area and thatcorresponds to the information about the target geographic area, and asending unit configured to send the identifier of the target networkarea to the network side device.

According to a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosureprovides a network side device, where the network side device includes areceiver configured to receive a congestion status of a target networkarea from an RCAF entity, where the target network area is a networkarea involved in an application service provided by a target applicationserver, and a transmitter configured to send the congestion status ofthe target network area to the target application server.

With reference to the ninth aspect, in a first possible implementationmanner of the ninth aspect, the receiver is further configured toreceive a first congestion query request from the target applicationserver, where the first congestion query request includes informationabout a target area, and the first congestion query request requests toacquire a congestion status of the target area, and the network sidedevice further includes a processor, where the processor is configuredto determine, according to the information about the target area, anidentifier of the target network area and related to the target area,and the transmitter is further configured to send a second congestionquery request to the RCAF entity, where the second congestion queryrequest includes the identifier of the target network area, and thesecond congestion query request requests to acquire the congestionstatus of the target network area.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the ninthaspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect,the information about the target area is information about a targetgeographic area, where the information about the target geographic areais information about an area not divided by an operator and that cannotbe identified by the network side device.

With reference to the second possible implementation manner of the ninthaspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect,the processor is further configured to determine, according to a mappingrelationship between the information about the target geographic areaand the identifier of the target network area, the identifier of thetarget network area corresponding to the information about the targetgeographic area.

With reference to the second possible implementation manner of the ninthaspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect,the processor is further configured to send the information about thetarget geographic area to an IWF entity using the transmitter, and theprocessor is further configured to determine that the identifier of thetarget network area is received by the receiver from the IWF entity.

With reference to any possible implementation manner of the firstpossible implementation manner of the ninth aspect to the fourthpossible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, in a fifth possibleimplementation manner of the ninth aspect, the first congestion queryrequest further includes service content description information of atarget application. The processor is further configured to determine,according to the service content description information of the targetapplication, a congestion status of an application in the target networkarea and that matches the target application, and the transmitter isfurther configured to send, to the target application server, thecongestion status of the application in the target network area and thatmatches the target application.

With reference to the fifth possible implementation manner of the ninthaspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect,the service content description information of the target application isan identifier of the target application, or an identifier of a groupcorresponding to the target application.

With reference to the ninth aspect or any one of the foregoing possibleimplementation manners of the ninth aspect, in a seventh possibleimplementation manner of the ninth aspect, the network side device is anSCEF entity, or the network side device is a PCRF entity.

According to a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosureprovides an application server, where the application server includes atransmitter configured to send a congestion query request to a networkside device, where the congestion query request includes informationabout a target area, and the congestion query request requests toacquire a congestion status of the target area, a receiver configured toreceive a congestion status of a target network area and related to thetarget area from the network side device, and a processor configured toadjust a running status of an application according to the congestionstatus of the target network area.

With reference to the tenth aspect, in a first possible implementationmanner of the tenth aspect, the information about the target area is anidentifier of the target network area, or the information about thetarget area is information about a target geographic area, where theinformation about the target geographic area is information about anarea not divided by an operator and that cannot be identified by thenetwork side device.

With reference to the tenth aspect or the first possible implementationmanner of the tenth aspect, in a second possible implementation mannerof the tenth aspect, the congestion query request further includesservice content description information of a target application, and thereceiver is further configured to receive a congestion status of anapplication in the target network area and that matches the targetapplication, where the congestion status is sent by the network sidedevice.

With reference to the second possible implementation manner of the tenthaspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the tenth aspect,the service content description information of the target application isan identifier of the target application, or an identifier of a groupcorresponding to the target application.

According to an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosureprovides an RCAF entity, where the RCAF entity includes a processorconfigured to acquire an identifier of a target network area, where thetarget network area is a network area involved in an application serviceprovided by a target application server, where the processor is furtherconfigured to acquire a congestion status of the target network area,and a transmitter configured to send the congestion status of the targetnetwork area to a network side device.

With reference to the eleventh aspect, in a first possibleimplementation manner of the eleventh aspect, the RCAF entity furtherincludes a receiver, where the receiver is configured to receive acongestion query request from the network side device, the congestionquery request includes the identifier of the target network area, andthe congestion query request requests to acquire the congestion statusof the target network area, and the processor is further configured todetermine the identifier of the target network area according to thecongestion query request.

With reference to the eleventh aspect, in a second possibleimplementation manner of the eleventh aspect, the processor is furtherconfigured to determine the identifier of the target network area from asubscription list, where the subscription list includes informationabout a network area and that can provide a congestion status.

According to a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosureprovides an IWF entity, where the IWF entity includes a receiverconfigured to receive information about a target geographic area from anetwork side device, where the information about the target geographicarea is information about an area not divided by an operator and thatcannot be identified by the network side device, a processor configuredto determine, according to a mapping relationship between an identifierof a target network area and the information about the target geographicarea, the identifier of the target network area and that corresponds tothe information about the target geographic area, and a transmitterconfigured to send the identifier of the target network area to thenetwork side device.

According to a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the presentdisclosure provides a congestion notification system, where the systemincludes any network side device according to the ninth aspect to theseventh possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect and any RCAFentity according to the eleventh aspect to the second possibleimplementation manner of the eleventh aspect.

With reference to the thirteenth aspect, in a first possibleimplementation manner of the thirteenth aspect, the system furtherincludes the IWF entity according to the twelfth aspect.

In the foregoing technical solutions, when a congestion status of atarget network area is acquired, a network side device may directly sendthe congestion status to a target application server configured toprovide an application service for the target network area. In this way,the target application server may adjust, in time according to thecongestion status, a running status of an application corresponding tothe target network area. For example, a measure may be applied for, suchas improving quality of service, reducing transmission bandwidth, orsuspending a transmission service. In this way, a waste of a networkresource may be reduced or user experience may be improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the presentdisclosure more clearly, the following briefly describes theaccompanying drawings required for describing the embodiments of thepresent disclosure, the accompanying drawings in the followingdescription show merely some embodiments of the present disclosure, andpersons of ordinary skill in the art may still derive other drawingsfrom these accompanying drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic flowchart of a congestion notification methodaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a congestion notification methodaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a congestion notification methodaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a congestion notification methodaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a congestion notification methodaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a congestion notification methodaccording to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a structural block diagram of a network side device accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a structural block diagram of an application server accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a structural block diagram of an RCAF entity according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a structural block diagram of an IWF entity according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a structural block diagram of a network side device accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a structural block diagram of an application server accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a structural block diagram of an RCAF entity according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a structural block diagram of an IWF entity according to anembodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a congestion notification systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following clearly describes the technical solutions in theembodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanyingdrawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The describedembodiments are merely some but not all of the embodiments of thepresent disclosure. All other embodiments obtained by persons ofordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the presentdisclosure without creative efforts shall fall within the protectionscope of the present disclosure.

It should be understood that the technical solutions in the embodimentsof the present disclosure may be applied to a Long Term Evolution (LTE)system.

UE also referred to as a mobile terminal (MT), mobile UE, and the like,may communicate with one or more core networks using a RAN. The UE maybe a mobile terminal, such as a mobile phone (also referred to as a“cellular” phone) and a computer with a mobile terminal. For example,the UE may be a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer built-in, orin-vehicle mobile apparatus.

FIG. 1 is a schematic flowchart of a congestion notification methodaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The methodincludes the following steps.

Step 101: A network side device receives a congestion status of a targetnetwork area and sent by an RCAF entity, where the target network areais a network area involved in an application service provided by atarget application server.

Step 102: The network side device sends the congestion status of thetarget network area to the target application server.

According to the method shown in FIG. 1, when a congestion status of atarget network area is acquired, a network side device may directly sendthe congestion status to a target application server configured toprovide an application service for the target network area. In this way,the target application server may adjust, in time according to thecongestion status, a running status of an application corresponding tothe target network area. For example, a measure may be applied for, suchas improving quality of service (QoS), reducing transmission bandwidth,or suspending a transmission service. In this way, a waste of a networkresource may be reduced or user experience may be improved.

Optionally, as an embodiment, before the network side device receivesthe congestion status of the target network area and sent by the RCAFentity, the method further includes receiving, by the network sidedevice, a first congestion query request sent by the target applicationserver, where the first congestion query request includes informationabout a target area, and the first congestion query request requests toacquire a congestion status of the target area, determining, by thenetwork side device according to the information about the target area,an identifier of the target network area and related to the target area,and sending, by the network side device, a second congestion queryrequest to the RCAF entity, where the second congestion query requestincludes the identifier of the target network area, and the secondcongestion query request requests to acquire the congestion status ofthe target network area.

The information about the target area may be the identifier of thetarget network area or information about a target geographic area. Theinformation about the target area is information about an area involvedin an application service provided by the application server. Further,the information about the target network area is information about anarea, such as a cell or a tracking area, divided by an operator and thatcan be identified by the network side device. The information about thetarget geographic area is information about an area not divided by anoperator and that cannot be identified by the network side device, suchas longitude and latitude information and a street name.

When the information about the target area is the identifier of thetarget network area, the network side device may directly determineidentifier of the target network area. When the information about thetarget area is the information about the target geographic area, thenetwork side device needs to determine the identifier of the targetnetwork area according to the information about the target geographicarea.

Optionally, as an embodiment, when the information about the target areais the information about the target geographic area, determining, by thenetwork side device according to the information about the target area,an identifier of the target network area and related to the target areaincludes determining, by the network side device according to a mappingrelationship between the information about the target geographic areaand the identifier of the target network area, the identifier of thetarget network area corresponding to the information about the targetgeographic area.

Optionally, as another embodiment, when the information about the targetarea is the information about the target geographic area, determining,by the network side device according to the information about the targetarea, an identifier of the target network area and related to the targetarea includes sending, by the network side device, the information aboutthe target geographic area to an IWF entity, and receiving, by thenetwork side device, the identifier of the target network area sent bythe IWF entity.

Optionally, the network side device may send a network area queryrequest message to the IWF entity, where the network area query requestmessage includes the information about the target geographic area. Afterdetermining an identifier of a corresponding target network area, theIWF entity may send a network area query response message to the networkside device, where the network area query response message includes theidentifier of the target network area.

Further, the first congestion query request may further include servicecontent description information of a target application. In this case,the network side device determines, according to the service contentdescription information of the target application, a congestion statusof an application in the target network area and that matches the targetapplication, and sends, to the target application server, the congestionstatus of the application in the target network area and that matchesthe target application. Further, the service content descriptioninformation of the target application is an identifier of the targetapplication, or an identifier of a group corresponding to the targetapplication.

Optionally, the network side device is an SCEF entity, or the networkside device is a PCRF entity.

Persons skilled in the art may understand that the RCAF entity mentionedin this embodiment of the present disclosure may also be referred to asan RCAF unit, the SCEF entity mentioned in this embodiment of thepresent disclosure may also be referred to as an SCEF unit, and the IWFentity mentioned in this embodiment of the present disclosure may alsobe referred to as an IWF unit.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a congestion notification methodaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The methodincludes the following steps.

Step 201: An application server sends a congestion query request to anetwork side device, where the congestion query request includesinformation about a target area, the congestion query request requeststo acquire a congestion status of the target area, and the target areais an area involved in an application service provided by theapplication server.

Step 202: The application server receives a congestion status of atarget network area related to the target area and sent by the networkside device.

Step 203: The application server adjusts a running status of anapplication according to the congestion status of the target networkarea.

According to the method shown in FIG. 2, an application server mayacquire in time a congestion status of a network area involved in aprovided application service. In this way, the application server mayadjust in time a running status of a service according to the congestionstatus. For example, a measure may be applied for, such as improvingQoS, reducing transmission bandwidth, or suspending a transmissionservice. In this way, a waste of a network resource may be reduced oruser experience may be improved.

Optionally, the information about the target area is an identifier ofthe target network area, or the information about the target area isinformation about a target geographic area. Further, the informationabout the target network area is information about an area, such as acell or a tracking area, that is divided by an operator and that can beidentified by the network side device. The information about the targetgeographic area is information about an area not divided by an operatorand that cannot be identified by the network side device, such aslongitude and latitude information and a street name.

Further, the congestion query request further includes service contentdescription information of a target application. The application serverreceives a congestion status of an application in the target networkarea and that matches the target application, where the congestionstatus is sent by the network side device. Further, the service contentdescription information of the target application is an identifier ofthe target application, or an identifier of a group corresponding to thetarget application.

Optionally, the network side device is an SCEF entity, or the networkside device is a PCRF entity.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a congestion notification methodaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Step 301: An RCAF entity acquires an identifier of a target networkarea, where the target network area is a network area involved in anapplication service provided by a target application server.

Step 302: The RCAF entity acquires a congestion status of the targetnetwork area.

Step 303: The RCAF entity sends the congestion status of the targetnetwork area to a network side device.

According to the method shown in FIG. 3, an RCAF entity may send in timea congestion status of a specific area to a network side device suchthat the network side device forwards the congestion status of the areato a corresponding application server. In this way, the correspondingapplication server may adjust in time a running status of a serviceaccording to the congestion status. For example, a measure may beapplied for, such as improving QoS, reducing transmission bandwidth, orsuspending a transmission service. In this way, a waste of a networkresource may be reduced or user experience may be improved.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the RCAF entity acquires the identifier ofthe target network area includes receiving, by the RCAF entity, acongestion query request sent by the network side device, where thecongestion query request includes the identifier of the target networkarea, and the congestion query request requests to acquire thecongestion status of the target network area.

Optionally, as another embodiment, that the RCAF entity acquires theidentifier of the target network area includes determining, by the RCAFentity, the identifier of the target network area from a subscriptionlist, where the subscription list includes information about a networkarea and that can provide a congestion status.

The information about the network area and that may be included in thesubscription list includes information about an application servercorresponding to the network area (for example, an identifier of acorresponding application server) and related information of the networkarea (for example, an identifier of the network area).

Optionally, the network side device is an SCEF entity, or the networkside device is a PCRF entity.

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a congestion notification methodaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The methodincludes the following steps.

Step 401: An IWF entity receives information about a target geographicarea sent by a network side device, where the information about thetarget geographic area is information about an area not divided by anoperator and that cannot be identified by the network side device.

Step 402: The IWF entity determines, according to a mapping relationshipbetween the information about the target geographic area and anidentifier of a target network area, the identifier of the targetnetwork area corresponding to the information about the targetgeographic area.

Step 403: The IWF entity sends the identifier of the target network areato the network side device.

According to the method shown in FIG. 4, an IWF entity may convertinformation about a geographic area that cannot be identified by anetwork side device into an identifier of a network area that can beidentified by the network side device. In this way, assistance may beprovided for the network side device in determining a network area inwhich congestion occurs.

To help persons skilled in the art better understand the presentdisclosure, the following further describes the present disclosure withreference to embodiments in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6.

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a congestion notification methodaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method includethe following steps.

Step 501: A target application server sends a first congestion queryrequest to a network side device, where the first congestion queryrequest includes information about a target area, the first congestionquery request requests to acquire a congestion status of the targetarea, and the target area is an area involved in an application serviceprovided by the application server.

Optionally, the information about the target area is an identifier of atarget network area, or the information about the target area isinformation about a target geographic area. Further, the identifier ofthe target network area is an identifier of an area, such as a cell or atracking area, divided by an operator and that can be identified by anetwork side device. The information about the target geographic area isinformation about an area not divided by an operator and that cannot beidentified by the network side device, such as longitude and latitudeinformation and a street name.

Persons skilled in the art may understand that the network side devicemay acquire an identifier of the target application server in order todetermine the target application server according to the identifier ofthe target application server. The identifier of the target applicationserver identifies the target application server. The identifier of thetarget application server may be a name of the target applicationserver, the identifier of the target application server may also be anInternet Protocol (IP) address of the target application server, theidentifier of the target application server may also be a Media AccessControl (MAC) address of the target application server, and so on.

Step 502: The network side device determines an identifier of a targetnetwork area according to the first congestion query request.

Optionally, as an embodiment, when the information about the target areais the information about the target geographic area, the network sidedevice may determine, according to a mapping relationship between theidentifier of the target network area and the information about thetarget geographic area, the identifier of the target network areacorresponding to the information about the target geographic area.

Optionally, as another embodiment, when the information about the targetarea is the information about the target geographic area, the networkside device sends the information about the target geographic area to anIWF entity. The network side device receives the identifier of thetarget network area sent by the IWF entity. In other words, the IWFentity may determine, according to a mapping relationship between theidentifier of the target network area and the information about thetarget geographic area, the identifier of the target network areacorresponding to the information about the target geographic area.

Certainly, when the information about the target area is the identifierof the target network area, the network side device may directlydetermine the identifier of the target network area.

Step 503: The network side device sends a second congestion queryrequest to an RCAF entity, where the second congestion query requestincludes the identifier of the target network area, and the secondcongestion query request requests to acquire a congestion status of thetarget network area.

Step 504: The RCAF entity acquires the congestion status of the targetnetwork area.

Further, the RCAF entity queries a UE list of a corresponding area usinga mobility management entity (MME). Further, the RCAF entity may send,to the MME, a congestion area corresponding to related information ofthe congestion area. The MME returns a UE identifier list of thecongestion area corresponding to the related information of thecongestion area. The RCAF entity determines, according to the UEidentifier list, a congestion situation of the congestion areacorresponding to the related information of the congestion area. If theRCAF entity determines that congestion occurs in the target networkarea, the RCAF determines that the congestion status of the targetnetwork area includes a congestion level. If the RCAF entity determinesthat congestion is to occur in the target network area, the RCAF entitymay determine that the congestion status of the target network areaincludes a predicted congestion level or other information (for example,time at which congestion may occur).

Step 505: The RCAF entity sends the congestion status of the targetnetwork area to the network side device.

Step 506: The network side device sends the congestion status of thetarget network area to the target application server.

Step 507: The target application server adjusts a running status of anapplication according to the congestion status of the target networkarea.

Further, the first congestion query request may further include servicecontent description information of a target application. In this case,the network side device determines, according to the service contentdescription information of the target application, a congestion statusof an application in the target network area and that matches the targetapplication, and sends, to the target application server, the congestionstatus of the application in the target network area and that matchesthe target application. Further, the service content descriptioninformation of the target application is an identifier of the targetapplication, or an identifier of a group corresponding to the targetapplication.

Optionally, the network side device is an SCEF entity, or the networkside device is a PCRF entity.

According to the method shown in FIG. 5, when a congestion status of atarget network area is acquired, a network side device may directly sendthe congestion status to a corresponding application server. In thisway, the application server may adjust in time a running status of acorresponding application service according to the congestion status.For example, a measure may be applied for, such as improving QoS,reducing transmission bandwidth, or suspending a transmission service.In this way, a waste of a network resource may be reduced or userexperience may be improved.

FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a congestion notification methodaccording to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Step 601: An RCAF entity determines an identifier of a target networkarea from a subscription list, where the subscription list includesinformation about a network area and that can provide a congestionstatus.

The information about the network area and that may be included in thesubscription list includes information about an application servercorresponding to the network area (for example, an identifier of acorresponding application server) and related information of the networkarea (for example, an identifier of the network area).

The subscription list may be sent by the application server to the RCAFentity using a subscription message. The subscription message mayinclude the related information of the network area (for example, theidentifier of the network area), the information about the applicationserver corresponding to the network area (for example, the identifier ofthe corresponding application server), and the like. The subscriptionlist may also be preconfigured and stored in the RCAF entity.

Step 602: The RCAF entity acquires a congestion status of the targetnetwork area.

Further, the RCAF entity queries a UE list of a corresponding area usingan MME. Further, the RCAF entity may send, to the MME, a congestion areacorresponding to related information of the congestion area. The MMEreturns a UE identifier list of the congestion area corresponding to therelated information of the congestion area. The RCAF entity determines,according to the UE identifier list, a congestion situation of thecongestion area corresponding to the related information of thecongestion area. If the RCAF entity determines that congestion occurs inthe target network area, the RCAF entity determines that the congestionstatus of the target network area includes a congestion level. If theRCAF entity determines that congestion is to occur in the target networkarea, the RCAF entity may determine that the congestion status of thetarget network area includes a predicted congestion level or otherinformation (for example, time at which congestion may occur).

Step 603: The RCAF entity sends the congestion status of the targetnetwork area to a network side device.

Step 604: The network side device sends the congestion status of thetarget network area to a target application server, where the targetnetwork area is a network area involved in an application serviceprovided by the target application server.

Before sending the congestion status of the target network area to thetarget application server, the network side device needs to determine anapplication server corresponding to the target network area. The networkside device may determine, using multiple methods, a target applicationserver corresponding to the target network area. For example, acorrespondence between the network area and the application server maybe stored in the network side device, and the network side device maydetermine the target application server according to the correspondencebetween the network area and the application server. For anotherexample, the subscription list stored in the RCAF entity may include thecorrespondence between the network area and the correspondingapplication server. The RCAF entity sends, to the network side device,related information (for example, an identifier of the targetapplication server) of the target application server corresponding tothe target network area when sending the congestion status of the targetnetwork area to the network side device. The network side device maydetermine the target application server according to the relatedinformation of the target application server sent by the RCAF entity.

Step 605: The target application server adjusts a running status of anapplication according to the congestion status of the target networkarea.

Further, the network side device may further acquire service contentdescription information of a target application, where the servicecontent description information of the target application indicates atleast one of the target application and target UE corresponding to thetarget application. In this way, the network side device may match thetarget application with a service flow or UE in a network area affectedby congestion and that corresponds to the target application. Theservice content description information of the target application may besent by the target application server to the network side device.

Optionally, the network side device is an SCEF, or the network sidedevice is a PCRF.

According to the method shown in FIG. 6, an RCAF entity may monitor acongestion status of a target network area according to a subscriptionlist, and send in time the congestion status of the target network areato a network side device in a case in which congestion occurs in thetarget network area. In a case in which the congestion status of thetarget network area is acquired, the network side device may directlysend the congestion status to a corresponding application server. Inthis way, the application server may adjust in time a running status ofa corresponding application service according to the congestion status.For example, a measure may be applied for, such as improving QoS,reducing transmission bandwidth, or suspending a transmission service.In this way, a waste of a network resource may be reduced or userexperience may be improved.

FIG. 7 is a structural block diagram of a network side device accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7, anetwork side device 700 includes a receiving unit 701 and a sending unit702.

The receiving unit 701 is configured to receive a congestion status of atarget network area sent by an RCAF entity, where the target networkarea is a network area involved in an application service provided by atarget application server.

The sending unit 702 is configured to send the congestion status of thetarget network area to the target application server.

When a congestion status of a target network area is acquired, thenetwork side device 700 shown in FIG. 7 may directly send the congestionstatus to a target application server configured to provide anapplication service for the target network area. In this way, the targetapplication server may adjust, in time according to the congestionstatus, a running status of an application corresponding to the targetnetwork area. For example, a measure may be applied for, such asimproving QoS, reducing transmission bandwidth, or suspending atransmission service. In this way, a waste of a network resource may bereduced or user experience may be improved.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the receiving unit 701 is furtherconfigured to receive a first congestion query request sent by thetarget application server, where the first congestion query requestincludes information about a target area, and the first congestion queryrequest requests to acquire a congestion status of the target area. Thenetwork side device 700 further includes a determining unit 703. Thedetermining unit 703 is configured to determine, according to theinformation about the target area, an identifier of the target networkarea related to the target area. The sending unit 702 is furtherconfigured to send a second congestion query request to the RCAF entity,where the second congestion query request includes the identifier of thetarget network area, and the second congestion query request requests toacquire the congestion status of the target network area.

Optionally, the information about the target area is information about atarget geographic area, where the information about the targetgeographic area is information about an area not divided by an operatorand that cannot be identified by the network side device.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the determining unit 703 is furtherconfigured to determine, according to a mapping relationship between theinformation about the target geographic area and the identifier of thetarget network area, the identifier of the target network areacorresponding to the information about the target geographic area.

Optionally, as another embodiment, the determining unit 703 is furtherconfigured to send the information about the target geographic area toan IWF entity using the sending unit 702. The determining unit 703 isfurther configured to determine that the identifier of the targetnetwork area is received by the receiving unit 701 from the IWF entity.

The first congestion query request further includes service contentdescription information of a target application. The determining unit703 is further configured to determine, according to the service contentdescription information of the target application, a congestion statusof an application in the target network area and that matches the targetapplication. The sending unit 702 is further configured to send, to thetarget application server, the congestion status of the application inthe target network area and that matches the target application.

Further, the service content description information of the targetapplication is an identifier of the target application, or an identifierof a group corresponding to the target application.

Further, the network side device 700 is an SCEF entity, or the networkside device 700 is a PCRF entity.

FIG. 8 is a structural block diagram of an application server accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 8, anapplication server 800 includes a sending unit 801, a receiving unit802, and a determining unit 803.

The sending unit 801 is configured to send a congestion query request toa network side device, where the congestion query request includesinformation about a target area, and the congestion query requestrequests to acquire a congestion status of the target area.

The receiving unit 802 is configured to receive a congestion status of atarget network area related to the target area and sent by the networkside device.

The determining unit 803 is configured to adjust a running status of anapplication according to the congestion status of the target networkarea.

The application server 800 shown in FIG. 8 may acquire in time acongestion status of a network area involved in a provided applicationservice. In this way, the application server 800 may adjust in time arunning status of a service according to the congestion status. Forexample, a measure may be applied for, such as improving QoS, reducingtransmission bandwidth, or suspending a transmission service. In thisway, a waste of a network resource may be reduced or user experience maybe improved.

Optionally, the information about the target area is an identifier ofthe target network area, or the information about the target area isinformation about a target geographic area, where the information aboutthe target geographic area is information about an area not divided byan operator and that cannot be identified by the network side device.

The congestion query request further includes service contentdescription information of a target application, and the receiving unit802 is further configured to receive a congestion status of anapplication in the target network area and that matches the targetapplication, where the congestion status is sent by the network sidedevice.

Further, the service content description information of the targetapplication is an identifier of the target application, or an identifierof a group corresponding to the target application.

FIG. 9 is a structural block diagram of an RCAF entity according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 9, an RCAF entity900 includes an acquiring unit 901 and a sending unit 902.

The acquiring unit 901 is configured to acquire an identifier of atarget network area, where the target network area is a network areainvolved in an application service provided by a target applicationserver.

The acquiring unit 901 is further configured to acquire a congestionstatus of the target network area.

The sending unit 902 is configured to send the congestion status of thetarget network area to a network side device.

The RCAF entity 900 shown in FIG. 9 may send in time a congestion statusof a specific area to a network side device such that the network sidedevice forwards the congestion status of the area to a correspondingapplication server. In this way, the corresponding application servermay adjust in time a running status of a service according to thecongestion status. For example, a measure may be applied for, such asimproving QoS, reducing transmission bandwidth, or suspending atransmission service. In this way, a waste of a network resource may bereduced or user experience may be improved.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the acquiring unit 901 is furtherconfigured to receive a congestion query request sent by the networkside device, where the congestion query request includes the identifierof the target network area, and the congestion query request requests toacquire the congestion status of the target network area.

Optionally, as another embodiment, the acquiring unit 901 is furtherconfigured to determine the identifier of the target network area from asubscription list, where the subscription list includes informationabout a network area and that can provide a congestion status.

FIG. 10 is a structural block diagram of an IWF entity according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 10, an IWF entity1000 includes a receiving unit 1001, a determining unit 1002, and asending unit 1003.

The receiving unit 1001 is configured to receive information about atarget geographic area sent by a network side device, where theinformation about the target geographic area is information about anarea not divided by an operator and that cannot be identified by thenetwork side device.

The determining unit 1002 is configured to determine, according to amapping relationship between an identifier of a target network area andthe information about the target geographic area, the identifier of thetarget network area corresponding to the information about the targetgeographic area.

The sending unit 1003 is configured to send the identifier of the targetnetwork area to the network side device.

The IWF entity 1000 shown in FIG. 10 may convert information about ageographic area that cannot be identified by a network side device intoan identifier of a network area that can be identified by the networkside device. In this way, assistance may be provided for the networkside device in determining a network area in which congestion occurs.

FIG. 11 is a structural block diagram of a network side device accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 11, anetwork side device 1100 includes a receiver 1101 and a transmitter1102.

The receiver 1101 is configured to receive a congestion status of atarget network area sent by an RCAF entity, where the target networkarea is a network area involved in an application service provided by atarget application server.

The transmitter 1102 is configured to send the congestion status of thetarget network area to the target application server.

When a congestion status of a target network area is acquired, thenetwork side device 1100 shown in FIG. 11 may directly send thecongestion status to a target application server configured to providean application service for the target network area. In this way, thetarget application server may adjust, in time according to thecongestion status, a running status of an application corresponding tothe target network area. For example, a measure may be applied for, suchas improving QoS, reducing transmission bandwidth, or suspending atransmission service. In this way, a waste of a network resource may bereduced or user experience may be improved.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the receiver 1101 is further configured toreceive a first congestion query request sent by the target applicationserver, where the first congestion query request includes informationabout a target area, and the first congestion query request requests toacquire a congestion status of the target area. The network side device1100 further includes a processor 1103. The processor 1103 is configuredto determine, according to the information about the target area, anidentifier of the target network area related to the target area. Thetransmitter 1102 is further configured to send a second congestion queryrequest to the RCAF entity, where the second congestion query requestincludes the identifier of the target network area, and the secondcongestion query request requests to acquire the congestion status ofthe target network area.

Optionally, the information about the target area is information about atarget geographic area, where the information about the targetgeographic area is information about an area not divided by an operatorand that cannot be identified by the network side device.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the processor 1103 is further configuredto determine, according to a mapping relationship between theinformation about the target geographic area and the identifier of thetarget network area, the identifier of the target network areacorresponding to the information about the target geographic area.

Optionally, as another embodiment, the processor 1103 is furtherconfigured to send the information about the target geographic area toan IWF entity using the transmitter 1102. The processor 1103 is furtherconfigured to determine that the identifier of the target network areais received by the receiver 1101 from the IWF entity.

The first congestion query request further includes service contentdescription information of a target application, and the processor 1103is further configured to determine, according to the service contentdescription information of the target application, a congestion statusof an application in the target network area and that matches the targetapplication. The transmitter 1102 is further configured to send, to thetarget application server, the congestion status of the application inthe target network area and that matches the target application.

Further, the service content description information of the targetapplication is an identifier of the target application, or an identifierof a group corresponding to the target application.

Further, the network side device 1100 is an SCEF entity, or the networkside device 1100 is a PCRF entity.

FIG. 12 is a structural block diagram of an application server accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 12, anapplication server 1200 includes a transmitter 1201, a receiver 1202,and a processor 1203.

The transmitter 1201 is configured to send a congestion query request toa network side device, where the congestion query request includesinformation about a target area, and the congestion query requestrequests to acquire a congestion status of the target area.

The receiver 1202 is configured to receive a congestion status of atarget network area related to the target area and sent by the networkside device.

The processor 1203 is configured to adjust a running status of anapplication according to the congestion status of the target networkarea.

The application server 1200 shown in FIG. 12 may acquire in time acongestion status of a network area involved in a provided applicationservice. In this way, the application server 1200 may adjust in time arunning status of a service according to the congestion status. Forexample, a measure may be applied for, such as improving QoS, reducingtransmission bandwidth, or suspending a transmission service. In thisway, a waste of a network resource may be reduced or user experience maybe improved.

Optionally, the information about the target area is an identifier ofthe target network area, or the information about the target area isinformation about a target geographic area, where the information aboutthe target geographic area is information about an area not divided byan operator and that cannot be identified by the network side device.

Further, the congestion query request further includes service contentdescription information of a target application, and the receiver 1202is further configured to receive a congestion status of an applicationin the target network area and that matches the target application,where the congestion status is sent by the network side device.

Further, the service content description information of the targetapplication is an identifier of the target application, or an identifierof a group corresponding to the target application.

FIG. 13 is a structural block diagram of an RCAF entity according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 13, an RCAFentity 1300 includes a processor 1301 and a transmitter 1302.

The processor 1301 is configured to acquire an identifier of a targetnetwork area, where the target network area is a network area involvedin an application service provided by a target application server.

The processor 1301 is further configured to acquire a congestion statusof the target network area.

The transmitter 1302 is configured to send the congestion status of thetarget network area to a network side device.

The RCAF entity 1300 shown in FIG. 13 may send in time a congestionstatus of a specific area to a network side device such that the networkside device forwards the congestion status of the area to acorresponding application server. In this way, the correspondingapplication server may adjust in time a running status of a serviceaccording to the congestion status. For example, a measure may beapplied for, such as improving QoS, reducing transmission bandwidth, orsuspending a transmission service. In this way, a waste of a networkresource may be reduced or user experience may be improved.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the RCAF entity 1300 further includes areceiver 1303. The receiver 1303 is configured to receive a congestionquery request sent by the network side device, where the congestionquery request includes the identifier of the target network area, andthe congestion query request requests to acquire the congestion statusof the target network area. The processor 1301 is further configured todetermine the identifier of the target network area according to thecongestion query request.

Optionally, as another embodiment, the processor 1301 is furtherconfigured to determine the identifier of the target network area from asubscription list, where the subscription list includes informationabout a network area and that can provide a congestion status.

FIG. 14 is a structural block diagram of an IWF entity according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 14, an IWF entity1400 includes a receiver 1401, a processor 1402, and a transmitter 1403.

The receiver 1401 is configured to receive information about a targetgeographic area sent by a network side device, where the informationabout the target geographic area is information about an area notdivided by an operator and that cannot be identified by the network sidedevice.

The processor 1402 is configured to determine, according to a mappingrelationship between an identifier of a target network area and theinformation about the target geographic area, the identifier of thetarget network area and that corresponds to the information about thetarget geographic area.

The transmitter 1403 is configured to send the identifier of the targetnetwork area to the network side device.

The IWF entity 1400 shown in FIG. 14 may convert information about ageographic area that cannot be identified by a network side device intoan identifier of a network area that can be identified by the networkside device. In this way, assistance may be provided for the networkside device in determining a network area in which congestion occurs.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a congestion notification systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG.15, a congestion notification system 1500 includes an RCAF entity 1501and a network side device 1502.

The RCAF entity 1501 in the congestion notification system 1500 is theRCAF entity 1300 shown in FIG. 13. The network side device 1502 in thecongestion notification system 1500 is the network side device 1100shown in FIG. 11.

According to the congestion notification system 1500 shown in FIG. 15,when a congestion status of a target network area is acquired, a networkside device 1502 may directly send the congestion status to a targetapplication server configured to provide an application service for thetarget network area. In this way, the target application server mayadjust, in time according to the congestion status, a running status ofan application corresponding to the target network area. For example, ameasure may be applied for, such as improving QoS, reducing transmissionbandwidth, or suspending a transmission service. In this way, a waste ofa network resource may be reduced or user experience may be improved.

Further, the congestion notification system 1500 shown in FIG. 15 mayfurther include an IWF entity 1503. The IWF entity 1503 in the system1500 may be the IWF entity 1400 shown in FIG. 14.

Persons of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that, in combinationwith the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in thisspecification, units and algorithm steps may be implemented byelectronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronichardware. Whether the functions are performed by hardware or softwaredepends on particular applications and design constraint conditions ofthe technical solutions. Persons skilled in the art may use differentmethods to implement the described functions for each particularapplication, but it should not be considered that the implementationgoes beyond the scope of the present disclosure.

It may be clearly understood by persons skilled in the art that, for thepurpose of convenient and brief description, for a detailed workingprocess of the foregoing system, apparatus, and unit, reference may bemade to a corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, anddetails are not described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, itshould be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and methodmay be implemented in other manners. For example, the describedapparatus embodiment is merely exemplary. For example, the unit divisionis merely logical function division and may be another division inactual implementation. For example, a plurality of units or componentsmay be combined or integrated into another system, or some features maybe ignored or not performed. In addition, the displayed or discussedmutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may beimplemented through some interfaces. The indirect couplings orcommunication connections between the apparatuses or units may beimplemented in electronic, mechanical, or other forms.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physicallyseparate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units,may be located in one position, or may be distributed on a plurality ofnetwork units. Some or all of the units may be selected according toactual needs to achieve the objectives of the solutions of theembodiments.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the presentdisclosure may be integrated into one processing unit, or each of theunits may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integratedinto one unit.

The functions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium whenthe functions are implemented in the form of a software functional unitand sold or used as an independent product. Based on such anunderstanding, the technical solutions of the present disclosureessentially, or the part contributing to conventional approaches, or apart of the technical solutions may be implemented in a form of asoftware product. The software product is stored in a storage medium andincludes several instructions for instructing a computer device (whichmay be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) or aprocessor to perform all or a part of the steps of the methods describedin the embodiments of the present disclosure. The foregoing storagemedium includes any medium that can store program code, such as auniversal serial bus (USB) flash drive, a removable hard disk, aread-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk,or an optical disc.

The foregoing descriptions are merely example embodiments of the presentdisclosure, but are not intended to limit the protection scope of thepresent disclosure. Any variation or replacement readily figured out bypersons skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in thepresent disclosure shall fall within the protection scope of the presentdisclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosureshall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

1. A congestion notification system, comprising: an application serverconfigured to: send a first congestion query request, wherein the firstcongestion query request comprises information about a target area;receive a congestion status of a target network area related to thetarget area, wherein the target network area is involved in anapplication service provided by the application server; and adjust arunning status of an application according to the congestion status ofthe target area; a service capability exposure function entityconfigured to: receive the first congestion query request from theapplication server; determine, according to the information about thetarget area, an identifier of the target network area; send a secondcongestion query request, wherein the second congestion query requestcomprises the identifier of the target network area; receive thecongestion status of the target network area; and send the congestionstatus of the target network area to the application server; and acongestion awareness function entity configured to: receive the secondcongestion query request from the service capability exposure functionentity; acquire the congestion status of the target network area; andsend the congestion status of the target network area to the servicecapability exposure function entity.
 2. The congestion notificationsystem according to claim 1, wherein the information about the targetarea is about a target geographic area.
 3. The congestion notificationsystem according to claim 2, wherein the information about the targetgeographic area is about an area that is not divided by an operator andthat cannot be identified by the service capability exposure functionentity.
 4. The congestion notification system according to claim 3,wherein the service capability exposure function entity is furtherconfigured to determine, according to a mapping relationship between theinformation about the target geographic area and the identifier of thetarget network area, the identifier that is of the target network areaand that corresponds to the information about the target geographicarea.
 5. A congestion notification method, comprising: receiving, by aservice capability exposure function entity, a first congestion queryrequest from an application server, wherein the first congestion queryrequest comprises information about a target area, and wherein the firstcongestion query request is to request a congestion status of the targetarea; determining, by the service capability exposure function entityaccording to the information about the target area, an identifier thatis of a target network area related to the target area, wherein thetarget network area is involved in an application service provided bythe application server; sending, by the service capability exposurefunction entity, a second congestion query request to a congestionawareness function entity, wherein the second congestion query requestcomprises the identifier of the target network area, and wherein thesecond congestion query request is to request a congestion status of thetarget network area; receiving, by the congestion awareness functionentity, the second congestion query request from the service capabilityexposure function entity; acquiring, by the congestion awarenessfunction entity, the congestion status of the target network area;sending, by the congestion awareness function entity, the congestionstatus of the target network area to the service capability exposurefunction entity; receiving, by the service capability exposure functionentity, the congestion status of the target network area from thecongestion awareness function entity; and sending, by the servicecapability exposure function entity, the congestion status of the targetnetwork area to the application server.
 6. The congestion notificationmethod according to claim 5, wherein the method further comprises:receiving, by the application server, the congestion status of thetarget network area; and adjusting, by the application server, a runningstatus of an application according to the congestion status of thetarget network area.
 7. The congestion notification method according toclaim 5, wherein the information about the target area is about a targetgeographic area.
 8. The congestion notification method according toclaim 7, wherein the information about the target geographic area isabout an area that is not divided by an operator and that cannot beidentified by the service capability exposure function entity.
 9. Thecongestion notification method according to claim 8, whereindetermining, by the service capability exposure function entityaccording to the information about the target area, the identifier thatis of the target network area and that is related to the target areacomprises determining, by the service capability exposure functionentity according to a mapping relationship between the information aboutthe target geographic area and the identifier of the target networkarea, the identifier that is of the target network area and thatcorresponds to the information about the target geographic area.